Monday, April 21, 2008

Terms, Abbreviations and Assholery: A - C

Here are some A - C definitions from The Fanfiction Glossary that I feel apply to role playing games. I like this site so much that I will bring you more later on because I like applying terms to different things I see in role playing games. It's almost like pinning a Sue down, dissecting her behaviours and labeling everything scientifically so you leave little doubt or confusion that the next bitch you encounter with these characteristics is a Sue.


ANC

"Annoying New Character" -- an author-created character who (obviously) annoys the hell out of readers. Often, but not always, a Mary Sue.

Often a Mary Sue or, perhaps, a character created by the Mary Sue author to back up the awesomeness of the Mary Sue. He/She could be a sidekick, a lover or a villain created to make the Mary Sue look shiny! And you know what? Sometimes the Suethors are sneaky and won't admit they made an ANC but when one character fawns over another for no apparent reason, yeah, they are written by the same Sue hand.


Angst

Refers to the emotional wounds suffered and/or borne by a character, especially if they spend pages moaning about their miserable life in great detail. Can add intensity to a story or turn it into one big long pityparty. Warning: angst can be addictive!

Like when vampires kill your parents. I hear that's a common occurence these days.


Annoying Original Female Character

Any Original Female Character who's, well, irritating as all hell. Usually a Mary Sue. Often abbreviated to AOFC.

Mary Sue and Annoying are redundant.


Aura Of Smooth

An imaginary energy field said to exist around blatant Mary Sues or other self-insertions. It's the only explanation for how the canon characters suddenly turn into gullible shadows of their normal selves around 'em.

Mary Sues just ooze charm, intelligence, kindness, tolerance, strength, speed and mind reading abilities. They love everyone (who adores them) and smites those who are mean to them. They even manage to stop things before they get started because that aura of smooth is so strong.


Bandom

A punnish nickname for fandoms centering around fictionalizing real-life bands like the Goo Goo Dolls, Good Charlotte, Nirvana, etc.

This is when rpgs are created to star bands like N'Sync as pirates. See also BBS.


Barbieshipper

A fan of a particular pairing that acts a particular way. Barbieshippers want their pairing to behave in an idealized fashion, and tend to throw fits if anything threatens that cherished bubble.

Like if a faery fancies a werewolf and some dude made fun of their relationship, that faery may feel such a hate for that dude that she'd bitch endlessly about him as if he were a real guy and not a character in an rpg. That faery Suethor would be a wankery barbieshipper.


BBS

Boy Band Slash, ie. NSYNC, the Backstreet Boys, etc. Yes, it exists, and there's a lot of it.

Oh I know you all want me to find some of it. You're all itching to see Timberlake do it with Fatone.


BGM

Short for "background music" -- an integral part of the anime experience, for some fans.

Some Suethors use song lyrics to punctuate bios or role playing replies. If they feel bitchy it will be Avril LaVigne or if they are sad it will be Dido-- or whatever. My eyes glaze over once this shit starts.


Boyfic

A sarcastic term for stories big on action, explosions, and violence but low on character development.

I mostly see this assholery is bio forms. If a Gary Stu lists his his bastard swords in detail, names his guns or explains how supped up his penis car is, his role playing postings will be boyfiction. He'll fight thousands bad guys easily and with stoicism beyond comprehension. His sexuality will be his weapon to the poin that men and women alike want to fuck him. He's the werewolf that needs to carry an AK47 to assault people that think he's in a bad mood. I suppose if you are a Gary Stu, you don't need a personality as long as you can violently thrust poiny objects at things.



Bunny

Short for "boink bunny" -- somebody meant for casual playful sex, often in the context of a convention. Not technically a fanfic term, and not a very common one, but it does pop up!

This is another term for a Tootsietramp. This Mary Sue or Gary Stu will make it a poin in their bios to say they find anything attractive and will crawl into bed with it. Like a veela or a part veela, they will fuck anything because it's the way they were made.


Clone

In an online RPG, a duplicate created of a character who is still active -- either an innocent mistake or a vicious attempt at an override, but either way a big no-no. In some games, this term can blur to mean any duplicate of any character, active or retired.

You know... if you make an imp and then someone else also comes along and makes an imp almost exactly like yours, or you make a character who gains more magic by doing something original and someone comes along with a character who tries your idea and runs with it like it belonged to them in the first place? Do I sound bitter?



Cocooning

Like 'shipping but more so -- it refers to a practice wherein two roleplayers seek out or fall into a pairing (or multiple pairings) so tight that they stop roleplaying with others. A very negative term.


This may seem rude to those on the outside but I found it a salvation to only roleplay with my friends because I was drowning in a sea of Mary Sues. My friends and I write the same way, we understand each others characters and we respect each other's characters. Negative or not, it's wonderful to role play with people who get you.

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